Wildlife Forensics

Exclusive: NGOs express concerns that cultured rhino horn undercuts existing law and imperils wild rhinos. By Laurel Neme PUBLISHED Wed Feb 10, 2016 Trade in bioengineered rhino horn shouldn’t be allowed. That’s the contention behind a petition filed today with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by the Center for Biological Diversity, a U.S.-based group that uses science and…

Mongabay WildTech 10th July 2015 / Laurel Neme When border agents seize two tons of smuggled ivory, how do they tell where it’s from? When meat on sale in Southeast Asia is suspected to be from a tiger, how can the police prove it? And when blood in a hunter’s truck is thought to come from a poached…

Search continues for a rare boa constrictor stolen from Brazil to breed for the reptile trade. Laurel Neme for National Geographic Published May 7, 2014 With its abundant rare species and remote locales, Brazil has long been known as an epicenter for wildlife trafficking. But that’s changing, thanks to a group of dedicated investigators…

Posted by Laurel Neme in A Voice for Elephants on May 23, 2013 Hong Kong Customs seized 113 ivory tusks in a cargo shipment at Hong Kong International Airport on April 30 this year. Officers detected the ivory when they X-rayed a consignment labeled “spare parts” being shipped from Burundi, Africa to Singapore via Hong Kong. DNA analysis…

From JeffCorwinConnect.com: Laurel NemeJune 27, 2011 When US Airways Flight 1549 went down in New York’s Hudson River on that 20-degree day in January 2009, just six minutes after take-off, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles suspected the cause: a bird strike. “Hit birds,” they reported. “We lost thrust in both engines. Turning…

By Laurel Neme, special to mongabay.comSeptember 19, 2010 Marcy Heacker, a wildlife forensic scientist at the Smithsonian Institution’s Feather Identification Lab in Washington, DC, spoke with Laurel Neme on her “The WildLife” radio show and podcast about wildlife forensics, bird strikes and feather identification, and how her analyses help airports manage wildlife to enhance airline safety. She also…

The changing nature of illegal logging – and illegal logging investigations – in Brazil’s Amazon By Laurel Neme, special to mongabay.com July 08, 2010 Continued from Top officials busted in Amazon logging raids, but political patronage may set them free Operation Jurupari followed on several previous Brazilian Federal Police investigations into SEMA, including:…

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She specializes in bringing together diverse perspectives — from farmers and indigenous groups to high-level policymakers — to create positive solutions that protect wildlife while improving the livelihoods of those living near the animals.